Save The Eggs From Bad Poachers!

Whew!  Sorry I have been M.I.A. for a while, it's been crazy!  My sister and I have signed a contract to do another cookbook, which we have working tirelessly on for the past several weeks.  So, even though I have been creating and cooking like a mad ninja, I surprisingly have little to report about food right now :/

freeimagesarchive.com

However, that being said, I do have something to gripe about, and it's not a restaurant.  I need to vent about "egg poachers."  I know, it seems silly, but I had high hopes and the egg poachers gave me a monster let down, so I'm sharing this valuable information with you, just in case you were thinking about getting excited about egg poachers...or at least, this particular egg poacher.

Williams-Sonoma

Let me start from the beginning. I know this sounds silly, but before about a month ago, I had never had a poached egg, even though I LOVE eggs.  So I was watching an episode of Master Chef, and one of the elimination challenges was to cooks like 4 eggs in specific ways.  I though, "Pft, that's what you are giving these amazing cooks to do as a challenge?  Really?  Eggs?"  But I was soon amazed by how difficult it was for the 3 contestants to get them perfect.  They were supposed to make a soft-boiled, a sunny-side up, an omelet, and a poached egg.  Only one of the chefs got the poached egg right, but the point is, I never really knew what exactly a poached egg was supposed to look like.

My favorite egg style has always been the over-easy egg, however, it seems like over the past several years, restaurants seem to be unable to give me a fried egg where the center is "goopy" (and yes, that is a technical term), and the white doesn't look like snot.  I don't want to eat that!  So I started asking for over-medium, and even then sometimes I'm still eating under-cooked egg whites, which I cannot bring myself to do.  My ideal egg style is to have a warm, but goopy (or dippy, I call it that too) center, with egg whites that are solid and completely done.  So why hadn't I ever tried a poached egg???  WHHHHYYYYYYY?  I don't know, accept for the fact that I had never actually seen one in real life before, as weird as that is.  No one I had ever eaten with had ever ordered one, and no one in my family ever cooked one for Saturday morning breakfast, so how would I know? **Thank TV for teaching me valuable life information**

So, after watching that Master Chef episode, I thought, "I can totally poach an egg!  I'll just do it like Monte did on the show, she even told me how long to leave it in - 3 minutes, I can do that."  And I did.  First time out, I got a sauce pan, filled it with water, set it to boil, then cracked the egg into a ramikin, gently tilted the ramikin into the water and let the egg slide out.  I boiled it for exactly 3 minutes, pulled it out, added salt and cracked pepper and cut into it to see how I did (just like the pro chefs did with the poached eggs on the show).  And you know what it did?  Exactly what Monte's did in the show to let her advance to the next stage.  It was perfect!  Thank you Master Chef!  However, that was the only time I have cooked a poached egg perfectly since, lol!  Seriously, I get them close, but for some reason I haven't made them perfectly since that day.

Oh well, here's the thing, it really doesn't matter to me with poached eggs, you know why?  Because even if I over cook or under cook it a bit, the inside is still goopy, and I know for a fact that the egg white is cooked!  Plus, the upside is that it isn't fried!  No butter, no grease, just healthy goodness.  I know, I know you're thinking, "No butter?  Jen, are you okay?  We know how much you LOVE butter!  What is happening?"  Don't worry, I still use plenty of butter when I fry up the hash browns that go with the eggs ;)

So what was I going to complain about?  Egg poacher #1.  See, even though poached eggs are awesome in so many ways, they get a little messy in the pan, and the shape can be quite funky if not properly formed while cooking.  So, I though it would be nice to have some sort of egg holder that could sit in the water and boil it up in a proper sort of form.  I wasn't sure what I was needing exactly, or if something like that was even manufactured, but after a trip to Williams-Sonoma, a very kind and patient costumer service rep helped me find the glorious tool that would solve all of my egg poaching problems!

The Egg Poacher Cup!!

Yes, the egg poacher cup is a genius, easy to use, easy to remove tool for perfectly poached eggs!  NO, it really ISN'T!  It creates a huge mess and the egg is not easy to remove, I don't care what the description says.  It took way too much time and effort to get the egg out, and it didn't come out unscathed, I can tell you that.  The picture of the "perfectly shaped poached egg" on their website looks like this:

Williams-Sonoma

This photo is a misrepresentation of the actual state of the egg, or cup after it is cooked.  The holes get clogged all up with whites, and egg white bits are still floating all around in the pan and sticking to the sides.  Even if you coat the stainless steal cup in oil first, the eggs still sticks to it, and does not under any circumstances come out easily, at all!  

So, I have decided that I will not be using these egg poacher cups to make eggs, but instead, I will use them to coat things in chocolate or something.  But I am not giving up on my perfect egg poacher device.  

Maybe I will just buy the expensive, special pan with built in cups in the future, or try one like the one above for 20 bucks at Sears,  but for now, the ramekin transfer method will have to do.

An Egg On A Burger and Other Tales of FUN!

Wow!  Well, after 1-and-a-half bouts of the plague, and gearing up for NaNoWriMo, October got away from me :/  So, without further delay, I bring you...the new blog post - ta da!

As promised, I will be sharing my thoughts about a local burger & beer joint - The Garage.

Located in Historic Downtown Norman, Oklahoma, The Garage offers customers the unique option of choosing which protein goes into the creation of your burger.  Your choices are fresh Angus beef, garden, turkey, and yes, even bison!  Hooray for choices!  The menu is "garage-themed" with Appetizers being dubbed "First Gear," burgers, "Second Gear," and so on.  

(You probably can't read this, so click on the link above to get a better view)

Even the staff looks the part when they wear their mechanic-style shirts.  And I'm telling you right now, I am a theme freak!  I LOVE anything themed, so that's another reason I love coming here. The burger list has many pre-thought-out burger styles, or you can choose to sort of build your own.  Add jalapenos, or even another patty if you want to.

My very fav thing on the menu is the Egg-O-Nater!  It comes with mayo, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and yes, a fried egg, all snuggled in between a couple of warm buns (I get it without mayo or tomato, cuz I'm picky like that).  At first I was all, "What?  Are you serious?  Who eats an egg on top of a burger?"  Then I tried it and you know what?  I am the "who" that eats egg on top of a burger.  You know why?  Because it is the most awesome thing I've ever had on a burger!  The bacon & egg combo compliment the burger.  Now, I've only had this with the Angus beef, so I'm not sure how well it all goes together with other proteins, but if you are feeling bold,  GIVE IT A GO!  I didn't get a picture of it, but here is one from Hal Smith.

The Egg-O-Nater - Photo by Hal Smith

I have to admit, sometimes, I'm just not in the mood for a burger.  There's no need to fear!  (No, I haven't seen Underdog for a while, but here, try something else)  The Garage offers more than just burgers, there's a little bit for everyone here.  They have tacos (where you can also choose your protein), fish, salads, nachos, grilled cheese, and even a kids menu.  

The Garage also has an amazing assortment of fresh-cut fries!  Regular fries, sweet potato fries, Tijuana fries (fries with grilled jalapenos and onions on top - served w/salsa), garlic/parm fries, and if you want something a little thinner, they also offer house potato chips.  

Okay, so here's how it works:

1) Pick an entrance, there's parking on the street in the front, or a small lot in the back. The front takes you through the bar, the back has you walking through the video games

Front = Bar

Back = Video Games

2) Walk to the center of the restaurant and place your order.  There is a huge chalk board behind the counter that is easy to read, or menus on the counter and at the little waiting sign in line.

3) Take the metal numbered stop sign with you and choose a booth or table (they have regular as well as high-seated tables).  When you get there, you will find a glass Coke bottle.  Put your metal numbered stop sign into the bottle (don't worry, it will actually stand up...I know, physics is crazy stuff!)

4) Relax, take some time to look around at all the hard work they put into the decor, but you won't have to wait long, because the kitchen is pretty fast!  You can also choose to spend your waiting time poppin' quarters into some machines.  The back of the restaurant houses a couple of old-school arcade games (and newer video games as well), pinball machines, and even two skeeball lanes!  I know!  Super fun, right?  

Need to make a call?  No problem!  The Garage has taken a regular old phone booth and "converted" it into a Cellphone Booth so that you can carry on a conversation with some privacy.

You can watch several different sports games as well as older movies all at the same time via the 15+ televisions propped up around the restaurant (minus the cacophony of the sound volume - thank goodness!) The atmosphere is made up of a hodgepodge of collections, such as vintage photos, signage, and even license plates from all over...

This place fulfills all 3 of my requirements for a fantastic dining experience -what I will now refer to as the "BIG 3":  1) great food quality, 2) awesome atmosphere, and most importantly - 3) amazing customer service!  The staff are always helpful and friendly, and they even make sure to triple check your order before it ever gets to your table, to make sure it's done right.  (Yay for a restaurant that implements quality control!)  Love, love, love!!

So, if you haven't been to The Garage in Norman, and you live around here (or are just visiting) you really need to check it out!  It's one of the very very few restaurants I eat at on a weekly basis, because it is consistent in my BIG 3, delicious, and FUN!  So come on in and give it a go!

Irish Butter & Scottish Cheffing

Okay, today I wanted to share with you a meal that I cooked last week that turned out deliciously fantastic!  Pan-fried steak with a port wine mushroom sauce, sesame stir-fried asparagus with peas, soft rolls and honey butter.

Now, first off I have to confess that I have never cooked steak in my life!  Well, I make cubed steak all the time, but that's totally different than say, a New York strip.  Honestly, I never really cared for steak but maybe once or twice a year, so I never thought about making it myself.  But then I found this video from Gordon Ramsay's new Ultimate Cookery Course on how to cook steak:

OMG!  Did you see that?  What, with the butter, and garlic, and thyme, and butter?  Did I say butter twice?  That's because first and foremost, I heart butter in/on anything, but to mix it with such aromatic flavors and baste a steak in it?  Forget about it.  So, for the first time ever, I decided to give it a go and cook a steak at home.  For the occasion I decided to give that block of Irish butter I'd been eyeing a try.  In case you are wondering, as I was, Irish butter has a higher butterfat content, giving it a richer, creamier flavor/texture than normal American butters.

Well, then I just had to think of a veggie to do this steak justice as a companion.  So I thought and thought about recipes I knew, I tossed a few ideas around in my head, and wound up surfing the web for something new.  That's when I stumbled across this little gem:

Sesame Stir-Fried Asparagus and Peas from a Best Health Magazine website in Canada.  Here is a link to the recipe. The recipe measurements are in milliliters, but don't panic, here is a milliliter to ounce conversion calculator to help you.  

Next, I decided I was in the mood for mushrooms with my steak.  So I tossed some of the Irish butter in a saucepan, added the other half of the red onion and let the onion cook down a bit.  Then I sliced up some Portobello mushrooms and stirred them in, mixing it all around for about 10 minutes, then I added some port wine and a little water with a bit of corn starch.  I let that all bubble together for a few more minutes until it started to thicken up a bit, then poured it into a small ramekin to serve on the side.  Mmmmm!  (No, I didn't get a picture of it- curses!)  

I got some soft bread rolls from the bakery and thought it would be cool to make some simple honey-infused butter.  But I over-softened the butter, which means that I completely melted it and it was ruined, so I settled for the plain ol' Irish butter and OMG!  Seriously, you've got to get a hold of some of that butter...oh, unless you're on a diet or something, but you should give it a taste at least once in your life, regardless.  The difference can really be tasted as a spread, not as much in cooking, just FYI.

So, considering I made everything in this meal new for the first time with only the honey butter being a failure, I sat that's a win!  Next time I'll be reviewing the local restaurant "The Garage."

**Don't forget, I will be selling and signing University of Oklahoma Cookbooks this Saturday, October 13th at the Duncan Public Library in Duncan, Oklahoma from 10am-1pm with other local artists.  So come on down!

Catastrophe & Cupcakes

Okay, I have to admit, I am not a big cake fan.  I never really cared for birthday cakes (although the decorating magicians always seemed to amaze me!), but for some unknown reason, I LOVE cupcakes!  Cookies are always better (for me), but I really love cupcakes.  And then, I discovered the sublime world of gourmet cupcakes. "WHAT?" you ask?  Yes, you read it right, gourmet cupcakes.  Now, I realize that this is probably more of a common phrase these days, with the spread of franchised gourmet cupcake businesses all around the USA, but this has been quite a recent revelation to me, so I'm very excited!  Lucky for me, (or if I were on a diet, it may be very unlucky) there is an enchanting shop here in Norman that specializes in gourmet cupcakes - Gigi's Cupcakes.

I do not currently have a picture of the outside of the building because once I pull up to it and smell the freshly baked cupcakes, I can't really think about anything else.  If you have been there, you know.  Now, I can't compare this gourmet cupcake shop to any others because I haven't had the good fortune to try any others, but at this point, I really don't feel the need to in order to be excited about this place!  Check out their summer menu and you can see what I mean:

If you can't see all the deliciously descriptive words, you can go here to see the menu in better detail.  Do you see all of that delectable goodness??  And this is just the Spring/Summer menu.  There is also an upcoming Fall/Winter menu that I cannot wait to sample! Keep up to date with their Facebook page and/or website.

Now here's a funny story: Once upon a time I thought it would be just dandy to get a few cupcakes and bring them to work...on my motorcycle. Well, I have saddle bags, its not like I was just gonna put them on my lap or something, geesh!  I was so very careful.  Making sure the little individual boxes were packed snugly inside the saddlebag as not to move, taking turns with careful finesse, and no sudden breaking.  I did it all, and here were the results once I got them to their destination...

...awww, so pretty. Let's open them!

Oops...Uh, lets try another one...

Oh no...two more to go...

Oh, hey this one is almost perfect!  Let's just use a fork to scoop the toppings on a little better...

Ah ha!  There was one out of four that actually made it intact!  I consider this a win.  Even though the motorcycle trip left these little beauties a bit disheveled, they were delicious nonetheless!  However, this is what the Chocolate Salted Caramel actually looks like when you DON'T take it for a motorcycle ride:

Isn't that pretty?  Hmmm, too bad I didn't pick one up on the way to work this morning, my mouth is watering looking at these pictures.  

Okay, what did we learn today?  

1. That gourmet cupcakes are the best invention ever!
2. That even though these cupcakes are decorated beautifully, they don't have to be in order to taste good.
3. Cupcakes prefer to ride home with you in the car, not on the motorcycle.

Don't forget to check out the "EVENTS" tab at the top to see where my next signing will be!

~Thanks for stopping by!~

Signing At The OU/FAMU Game

Wow!  What a weekend!  And what a game that was against FAMU, 69-13!  Woo hoo! Go Sooners!  I want to send out a very special 'Thank You' to Stephen and the entire crew from the OU Bookstore, for setting up the cookbook signing and taking care of me with beverages and cookies.  You are awesome!

Stephen showing off my book to a  Sooner fan

 I also want to thank those of you who purchased a copy of the University of Oklahoma Cookbook, and also to those who stopped over to chat and try a sample.  I had a fun afternoon and some wonderful conversations!  I had set out some samples of the Spiced Footballs (almonds with fall spice flavors) recipe for the fans passing by, and they went over really well.  It also helped that the sunlight creeping across the almonds seemed to warm them, and the buttery spices started to waft into the path of passerbys. (Mmmm!)

Next time on OMG, Have You Tasted This? I will be talking about how awesome cupcakes are.  Remember, I said nothing about how good for you they may or may not be.  I do not judge such things, nor do I feel guilty about stuffing my mouth with them.  I'm merely sharing my opinion about the awesomeness of cupcakes.  Did I mention how awesome cupcakes are?

Fun, Food, & Football!

Sorry I've been away from here for a few weeks, it has been really busy on this end.  I've spent the last few weeks preparing a new book proposal and sending it off to my publisher.  I've also been setting up signing events for my new book that came out this weekend!!

Here are the first signing event dates that I will be attending this month:

September 8th - OU Bookstore (Gate 3 of OU Stadium) just before 1st home game, from 3:30-5pm.

September 15th - Full Circle Books, from 12-2:30pm.

I am also in the midst of setting up two different publication parties on the University of Oklahoma campus the last week of September, and the first week of October, if you can't make the first two events.  The publication parties will feature a sampling of some of the recipes from the book (and free food is always a fantastic reason to show up!).  I will have copies of the book to buy ($14.99) and I will sign them there as well.  Solidified dates and times of these 2 events will be updated on my FaceBook page soon!

Now that we got all that business out of the way, how 'bout those Sooners yesterday?  The game started off neck and neck, then after half-time, OU pulled ahead scoring 3 points in the third, and nailing the game down with 2 more touchdowns in the 4th against UTEP.  The Miners lost to #4 University of Oklahoma, 24-7.  Way to start off the season, guys!

Labor Day weekend was THE weekend for kicking off the college football season, from coast-to-coast!  There were seventeen games just on Saturday alone, and the season is just getting started!  So if you will be hosting any game day tailgating parties, watch parties, or other seasonal events that require tasty treats, entrees, dips, or beverages, then pick up your copy of the Official University of Oklahoma Cookbook and have fun this football season!

The Hideaway

Do you like local eateries?  How about pizzerias?  Well, if you live in Oklahoma and want to try something other than the boring ol' pepperoni and cheese variety, check out Hideaway Pizza.

The Hideaway got its start in 1957 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.  If you are interested in the full history and philosophy of this restaurant, click on the link here, it's a fun an interesting read.  This place is awesome  not only for the fresh ingredients they use, but also for the different specialty pizza combinations that they have on the menu.  They have a pizza contest each year, encouraging employees and customers to make up new creations.  The winners get put on the menu, some for a limited time, and a few have made it onto the permanent Specialty Pizzas page.

First of all, I always start with a 50/50, which is half a plate of fried mushrooms, and half a plate of cheese sticks.  

Now, I used to come here every Sunday afternoon in the summers and get the Maui Magic pizza pie (red sauce, mozzarella, Canadian bacon, pineapple, and mandarin oranges) and a chilled goblet of Blue Moon and ate it on the patio.  

But then they stopped carrying Blue Moon, and other beers just didn't go with the Maui Magic as well, so I started getting it to go, so I could drink Blue Moon at home. However, when I dined in here recently, Blue Moon was back on the menu, and I was a happy girl!

My lunch companion and I decided to try one of the new Specialty Pizza's as well as have the usual Maui Magic, so we ordered a half and half pie, the other half being the new "Apollo" (Pesto sauce, fresh spinach, parmesan cheese, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, mozzarella and kalamata olives).

After pizza, there was just enough room left over for dessert.  The dessert list was full of hard choices, but ultimately, I had to have the Frozen Lemonade Pie.

I already took a bite or two out of it before I remembered to take a picture.  It was much prettier when it was set on the table.  Sooooo goooood!!

The food is great and the interior screams FUN!  However, if you want to get your food as take-out, Hideaway has an amazingly easy online ordering system!  Just go to http://www.hideawaypizza.com/ and click the bright green button on the left.  You have to sign up one time with an email address and password, then after that, you are good to go.  You can even re-order whatever you got last time without going through and making your selections again.  You just sign in, type in your zip code, and begin your order.  You can pay for it online or pay on receipt at the store.  You can include any special instructions and set the time you want to pick it up.  They don't have delivery, but it's worth your time to go get it.

Have a wedding, reunion, or other grand shin-dig?  Hideaway does catering.  So what are you waiting for?  Give them a try if you haven't before, and go back for more if you have!